The smell of coffee and the smell of cigarettes filled a room decorated by stacks of papers. Inside, some of the most important and politically powerful people in all of Hazen gathered around; Kel Mauro, the mage tower master, a fifth-circle mage, sat on the right, smoking his pipe. Viscount Hengard Adria Hazelo, Commander of the city guards, sat on the left, enjoying his coffee. And the most important man of them all, the next successor of House Hazen, Herman Adria Hazen sat in the middle, busy dealing with paperworks.

  Knock Knock

  “Come in,” Herman invited. The door to the room opened, revealing a dashing young man, the vice commander of the city guards, Kylan Adria Hazen. Next to him was the youngest son of house Hazen, a talented mage, Irvin Adria Hazen.

  “Brother, you called for us?” asked Kylan. Considering the stature of the people in this room, he knew whatever it was they wanted to discuss must be important. If he had to guess, it had something to do with the sewer raid that did not accomplish much. While they managed to pretty much clear the sewer from undead and illegal stashes, they did not manage to accomplish their main goal. Carven was nowhere to be found, the mages could not even estimate the Molrrets population, and they found no clues about this mysterious Regulus person that they were informed by Imperial Princess Tasha’s spy. Minimal results considering the money they spent and the men they lost to sewer kings. Kylan had already steeled himself for a scolding.

  “We have to discuss the sewer raid.” Herman announced to Kylan. He winced when his prediction was correct. This will not be a pleasant discussion. “We need to discuss what we will report to our father.” Kylan, Irvin, and Hengard sigh simultaneously. They knew the Count would explode when he saw the reports. “Haha, sucks to be you.” Kel Mauro teased them, knowing he would not report directly to the count and faced his wrath.

  “This is why no one likes you, master.” Irvin retorted. Kel Mauro tried to put up a strong face, acting like it did not matter, “Yeah… Well, when you’re a fifth-circle mage like me, you don’t need someone else's approval.” But everyone could tell that Kel Mauro was putting up a front, even Irvin felt bad for saying it.

  “Enough of that,” Herman ordered. “Father already knew that the sewer raid did not accomplish much. I already informed him of that.” The people in the room were confused. They thought they were here to discuss how to not get yelled at by the count. “There’s something more important than that.”

  “What could be more important than the result brother?” asked Kylan, genuinely lost why Herman did not put much emphasis on the lack of results from the raid. “... It’s the implication, Kylan. The lack of results meant one thing — we have no control of the new threat under our city — the Molrrets and Regulus.”

  Everyone in the room held their breath. Regulus, the so-called new threat that they had not seen yet, only heard about from Imperial Princess Tasha’s spy and a conjecture from the mages that he was the source of the mysterious dense mana.

  “Brother, how much do you believe Tasha’s spy? We never even met him… or her… or whatever they are.” Kylan questioned Herman, deep down, he did not want the spy’s report to be true… after all, the way the spy described Regulus and his advice on him… It not only sounded fictional, Kylan found their advice a bit disrespectful towards the city guards’ capabilities that he took pride in.

  “I believe them.” Irvin was the one to answer him. “The way they described Regulus… it makes sense with that dense mana trace that we found. And if this Regulus is truly capable of all that — the digging, communicating with Molrrets, and an [Iron Body] unlike any other — that would explain all of the recent cases.” There was an undeniable logic in Irvin’s words, but Kylan did not want to admit it. For admitting it meant that they had to listen to the spy’s advice on how to deal with Regulus. “How can you be sure about it if you never even see this ‘Regulus’ in the first place? And you call yourself a researcher? An intellectual?”

  Irvin was about to snap back before Herman cut them off. “That’s enough you two. The reality of the situation is, as long as we do not have direct information on this Regulus, we have no choice but to listen to the spy’s advice on how to handle him.”

  Kylan showed dissatisfaction in his face, he did not like the idea of following the advice of a person he never met, but he could not go against his older brother either. Instead, Hengard spoke up in his place, “Herman, I do not mind following the spy’s advice… if it’s good advice. But their advice is preposterous. To just ignore Regulus and his lackeys, to just let them do whatever they want, we’re supposed to protect the citizens, protect the city, we can’t just let someone and an entire group of criminals run free.”

  “We pretty much did that for the crimelords. Why the change of mind now?” Herman argued. Hengard was taken aback by the rebuttal, but he came up with an answer immediately. “It’s different. We tried to combat them and limit their operation. We were also gathering information and resources to do a full raid against them. But in the case of Regulus, we are told to not even do that.”

  “I understand where you city guards come from — and I agree with you. I want us to go with a compromise. Gather information on Regulus and his gang. Confirmed if the spy’s… fear, concerns, or whatever it is that gives them a cold feet is true or not. At the same time, be careful not to directly confront Regulus. The last thing we need is proving the spy right and we end up the fool for not listening to them.” Herman ordered. Hengard and Kylan nodded their heads. It was a tough task, but it was better than sitting still and twiddling their thumbs while they let a new crime lord ran rampant.

  “It seems you got everything under control. Doesn’t seem you need us mages here.” Kel Mauro blew his pipe. He was not that interested in public security matters. “Lord Mauro, don’t play dumb. We all know you are interested in this Regulus. He caught your curiosity, didn't he?” Kel Mauro was read like a book, he could not help but let out a chuckle. “Heh, you got me kid. I am interested in him. What did the princess’ little spy tell you about him? I’m dying to know.”

  “Other than what he is capable of? The gang of street urchins that follow him? And what he did? Not much.” Herman said it as a matter of fact that everyone took it at face value, everyone but Kel Mauro. “Did they tell you about his lineage too?”

  Herman sighed. He did not know if this piece of information would be a bad thing or not, especially since it was not confirmed yet, even by the spy. But Kel Mauro was already fishing for the info, and he did not know if he could play coy with Kel Mauro or not. “According to the spy… there is a possibility that Regulus is a bastard. The Emperor’s bastard.”

  “What!?” Everyone in the room was surprised by that information. Kel Mauro laughed maniacally instead. “Hah, I knew it.” He was exhilarated that his hypothesis about Regulus was true. “Hold your horses lord Kel. There is no confirmation yet, and the spy is not even sure if he is.”

  “Mana doesn’t lie, kid. That mana trace of his — it is too similar to an Azali Imperial family’s mana signature. He had to be blood related to Alexandross.”

  “Emperor, Alexandross.” Herman corrected Kel Mauro. “Aaah, who cares about that. Not like the guy himself in front of us or anything. What's important here, we’re dealing with one of his bastards.”

  Hengard, Kylan, and Irvin were uneasy. Dealing with an Azali bastards was not a laughing matter. First was the political implication. Based on Imperial laws, Imperial bastards had claim to the throne. It was a law that was made in case all the Imperial Princes and Princess were killed off and the empire had no successor left. It had happened once in the country's long history. Second and the most problematic issue was, Azali bastards had the blood of Azali flowing in them. That meant that they were either very talented in magic, or martial arts, or both. Judging by the information that they had, Regulus was at the very least talented in martial arts, and one who utilized his talents to the fullest.

  “I thought all of the bastards were killed during the War.” Kylan interjected. Kel Mauro just laughed at the notion. “Most bastards that live in the capital were killed during the Butchery of Bastards. But our dear Emperor is one to spread his seeds all over Azalia. I won’t be surprised if some bastards are still alive and hiding in some corner of Azalia… or in our case, right under our sewer.”

  “Is that why you told us to ignore Regulus, brother? Why you were willing to follow the spy’s advice?” Herman did not immediately answer Kylan. He had to ponder for a bit before answering it. “Yes… and no. It’s just dealing with a bastard is messy. And even if he is not a bastard, he is still someone who took down three crimelords pretty much by himself. We left the crimelords to their own devices because we know taking them down will cost a lot of lives… I’m afraid that dealing with Regulus can cost us pretty much everything.”

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  “He’s just one guy, brother. A kid even.” Kylan commented. Based on the report, Regulus was the only one who possessed a threat, while his followers were mostly a bunch of street urchins and former slaves. Kylan could not imagine that one person, especially a kid, could really take on the entirety of Hazen.

  “A guy with Azali’s blood, Kylan. I faced someone with Azali’s blood before. He was barely a teen when I faced him… and he destroyed my entire battalion by himself.” Herman closed his eyes, he was remembering painful memories and he did not want to show his wavering eyes to his younger brothers. Kylan and Irvin knew what he was talking about though. They heard the stories — the story of how Odyssus defeated Herman’s knights and battalion by himself and a couple of his personal knights.

  Kylan still remembered that day. The day he heard the news that his older brother and father were captured by a boy roughly his age. It was a horrible day for the entirety of House Hazen. They all thought it was pretty much the end of their house. Luckily for them, Kaisar was a generous ruler who pardoned many of his captives and enemies, especially those who he deemed as competent administrators of their territory… Those who he deemed incompetent though, did not receive the same mercy.

  CLAP

  Irvin clapped his hand, getting rid of the tense and awkward mood in the room. “Alright, let’s refocus. So, if I’m getting this right. The guards will let Regulus and his gangs roam free while gathering as much information on him. While us mages will do… what exactly?”

  Herman gathered his composure. He realized that this discussion had not really gone anywhere productive. “Yes, the guards will do exactly what you just said. And for the mages… I want you to support the guards. The biggest concern is Regulus’ [Iron Body]. According to the spy, that [Iron Body] of his is so strong that nobody in the city can harm him.”

  All eyes were on Kel Mauro after that claim. One could say, he was the person with the strongest firepower in the entire city. Kel Mauro took a puff from his pipe before answering their curiosity, “I probably couldn’t do anything to him.” he announced. The one who was most surprised was Irvin. “Even you can’t, master? How are you sure when you haven’t even seen Regulus in person?”

  “True, I need to actually see his [Iron Body] first hand to truly know… but just by judging the mana traces that he left… I doubt a fifth-circle spell can hurt him… or even affect him. At its core, [Iron Body] is a technique to enhance your body with mana. Judging by how much traces he left just by existing, he is basically a walking mana shield. And you’re a mage too Irvin. You know better than anyone the concept of [simple vs simple] and [complex vs complex].”

  Irvin was reminded of a basic magic theory that when dealing with a simple defensive spell — a simple offensive spell was more effective compared to a complex offensive spell. Basically, a simple spell could easily overpowered a complex spell mechanism by simply overflowing it with mana, making the complex spell useless. Of course in practice, one needed to completely outclass the complex spell in mana for the theory to hold true… But if Regulus was truly an Azali bastard, and judging by the mana traces that he left… it was completely possible that with his [Iron Body] alone, he was completely magic resistant to most spells, even without any additional defensive spells.

  “I see… so if most of our spells won’t be able to harm him… our best bet will be the knights.” Kylan and Hengard seemed nervous. They did not expect for the two best mages in the entire city to rely on the knights. “Well… I won’t know until I saw Regulus in person either… but the best knights in our city would either be Dame Lia or Ser Percy.”

  Ser Percy was the knight commander of House Hazen. A knight recognized as a master knight even before the War of the Empress and was even scouted to be one of the Imperial knights, Ser Percy was pretty much the strongest knight in all of Hazen and an equal to Kel Mauro in terms of combat prowess.

  “Sigh, I can’t believe I have to rely on that old man. How the mighty have fallen.” Kel Mauro complained, and everyone just looked at him funny for calling a man younger than him an old man. “Well, I guess there’s that. The guards will find out information such as their hideout, numbers, and Regulus whereabouts. While us mages find out on how to kill him. Is that all, Herman?”

  “Yes. That should be all.” Herman answered him. “And… What if the spy is right? What if no one in all of Hazen holds a candle to Regulus? What do we do then?” Kel Mauro asked the elephant in the room brazenly. It was a question that lingered in everyone's mind but did not want to touch. Herman sighed, he always found Kel Mauro’s straight forwardness as a bit exhausting. “Then we hope… we hope that Imperial Princess Tasha can take him on.”

  ***********

  “Sigh,”

  Gano was slumped on his balcony chair. He messaged his temple. These past few days, his headache had been getting worse and worse. Not only did he lost contact with Carven, the Hazen had brazenly closed many of his operations. Something they never did before. He did not know how, but the Hazen managed to find the location and important people to his operation and dismantle them one by one. He had been looking for a rat, but he could not find anyone who could possibly snitch him out to the Hazen. At this point, he could feel the wall slowly closing in on him. What’s worse, his potential new partner, the beggar king, was just recently eliminated.

  He had been using the beggar king as a source of information. With Burhan and Lorca being dead, he was planning to support the beggar king to take over some of their territory and made him the new crimelord — one that was indirectly working under him. To think that the beggar king would be taken out by a newcomer and most of his men were either killed or absorbed by the organization that took him down — the blasted Regulus and his street urchins.

  He wondered if he made a wrong move somewhere. Maybe he should have followed the plan of that kid, John, instead of listening to Carven. If he did, Carven would probably not have gone missing and Regulus, a thorn in his side, would have died… No, he should have tried to recruit Regulus to his side instead. If the story that John told him was right, Regulus would have been an invaluable asset to his crime empire. If his ability to dig was not exaggerated, Gano would have access to a complex tunnel system running all over the city by now, making smuggling and hiding his crime operation a lot easier. But now he had lost the chance, and he had picked a fight with Regulus.

  “I wonder if I should just run away?” Gano asked his favorite crow in the world, who was eating nuts without a care in the world. Gano was jealous of it. To be a bird without worry, to be a bird that could fly away from all his problems.

  Knock Knock

  Someone was knocking at the door. Gano could tell by the knock, that it was his trustworthy knight that did it, Jan. He also knew why he did it. He had summoned Rex for a discussion about how they would handle the newcomers, Regulus and his gang of street urchins.

  “Coming,” Gano tiredly stood from his chair and dressed up. Tired and stressed as he was, he had an image to maintain. Seeing Gano prepping to leave the room, the crow flew and perched on his shoulder. “Oh you, aren’t you clingy today?” Gano felt a bit of warmth when he saw his crow cutely following him around. At first, he only saw the corvid as a smart bird that he could use to deliver secret letters. He did not expect to grow so attached to the bird.

  Gano exited his room and headed towards the guest room, Jan following behind him. On the walk to the room, he mumbled to himself, practicing on what to say to Rex to convince him in getting rid of Regulus together, and on what to do against the Hazen that started shutting down his operation. It would not be an easy task. Rex was unpredictable. Worst case scenario, Rex could randomly decide to kill him — and there was nothing he could do to stop it. As great as Jan was, they both knew that Rex outclassed him. Jan could probably survive facing Rex… but he would not be able to protect Gano at the same time.

  After a short walk, Gano finally reached the guest room door. He took a deep breath and steeled himself, before opening the door with a bravado, “Good afternoon, Rex, sorry to make you… wait… where’s Rex?” He opened the door and spoke in an upbeat and confident manner, but instead of seeing Rex, all he saw was two of his lackeys, Evan and the red-haired boy. Rex was nowhere in sight.

  “I’m sorry Baron. Rex is… preoccupied at the moment.” Evan, the man that was Rex’s former right-hand man informed him. He seemed nervous, worried that Gano would take Rex’s absence as a disrespect. “Rex busy fucking some wenches. And he hates you.” The other person was the infamous red-haired boy, who was currently Rex’s right-hand man.

  Gano sighed. He was pissed that Rex decided to ditch a very important meeting, but at the same time he rather talked to these two instead. Gano knew both of them. He considered Evan as a perfect assistant or secretary material. A guy who listened well and knew his place, while also a voice of reason for Rex. Meanwhile, the red-haired boy… Gano always considered the boy to be quite an asset. Even though the boy was young and uneducated, he was a formidable mage and fighter while also being resourceful enough to navigate the crime world.

  Gano tried to recruit the boy once, but he was surprisingly loyal to Rex. And when he failed to get his hand on him, Gano tried to assassinate him, trying to get rid of the mastermind behind Rex’s success. Yet the boy foiled the plan simply by being a better fighter and killer compared to his would-be assassins. Gano was confident that the boy knew who sent those assassins, yet the boy showed no sign of concern or grudges at all. If anything, he looked relaxed eating the dessert that was served to him, not suspecting any poison at all.

  “That’s fine — I assume you will pass on what we will discuss here to Rex?” Gano assured the worried looking Evan. “Yes, Baron. We will.” Evan said, ready to start the discussion and looking relieved that Gano did not take Rex’s absence personally. “We’ll also speak on his behalf. If we disagree with something, it means Rex will hate it too.” The boy added, reminding Gano that they were not just there to just agree to Gano’s every demand. Evan looked a bit worried with the boy’s comment, but he shut his mouth. Gano realized the boy would be the decision maker in this discussion. “That’s fine — just be reasonable.”

  “Yeah… sure…” Gano noticed something, the boy was not focused on him at all. Instead, the boy was looking at his shoulder instead. “Nice crow.” The boy said with a huge smile on his face, there was a hint of mocking in his tone, but Gano wasn’t quite sure. Maybe he misread the tone of his voice. “Yes, thank you… now let’s start our—”

  “Is that crow trained?” The boy cut him off. Gano was confused why the boy was talking about his crow instead of the important matter that they were currently facing. “No, not really. Does it… matter?” Gano asked him. Wanting to move on from this weird topic instead.

  “Not trained huh… he seemed like a smart bird though… let me guess, he delivers letters for you.” The boy kept on harping about the crow. And while Gano used the crow to deliver letters, he wondered how the boy would know about it… Did he… had something to do with the recent bust that the Hazen had been conducting?... No, it did not make sense why he would do it. “Again, it doesn’t matter. Can we move on?” Gano looked at Evan, hoping that the timid but reasonable man would help him get the conversation going… but Evan’s face looked weird… It was like he just hit a realization.

  “Can I pet him?” The boy asked. Gano could only show confusion at that random question. Is the boy serious?... or maybe, he’s just a kid who was actually interested in someone else's pet… but it did not make sense. Why would the boy infamous for being a cold-blooded murderer acted like a normal kid all of a sudden.

  “I’m going to pet him.” The boy stood and reached his hand towards the crow. Gano was startled by the sudden movement. Jan put his hand on his sword, ready to strike the boy down, and the crow…

  CAAWK

  The crow cawed loudly before flying away from the boy’s reach. It flew to the nearest window, banging on the closed window wildly. Gano was a bit taken aback. He did not expect for his crow to be so scared of the boy. He stood from his sofa and walked towards the window. He opened the closed window, letting his crow flew away.

  “Awwww, it hated me.” The boy said playfully. Gano truly did not understand him at all, but now that his crow was gone, maybe they could actually discuss their plan of action. “Can we now focus and talk about important stuff now?” By his tone, it was clear that Gano was annoyed. Evan looked nervous, but the boy just brazenly sat back like he did not just waste everybody’s time. “Sure, sure. We’re all good now.”

  “Sigh,” Gano sighed as he messaged his temple. His headache just got worse. He could really use his emotional support crow right now.